Category Archives: 2017 Ice Classic

We’ve been watching the river in anticipation for days! On May 4th, the tripod fell halfway through the ice increasing the suspense for many participants. This morning the tripod stopped the clock, marking the official 2017 Kuskokwim Ice Classic breakup time at exactly 2:51 AM, Saturday, May 6th. Kristine Nick of Bethel won the pot of $12,500. She had the closest guess with the time of 2:42 AM.

The winner of the Ice Classic is determined by the person or persons who guess the exact minute of breakup. If no one has guessed the exact minute of breakup, the next closest minute on either side of the exact minute will be the winning time. The time of breakup is determined by the minute the tripod movement causes the clock to stop. You can watch breakup occurring on the webcam time lapse here at our website.

Youth groups in the Y-K Delta benefit from the Kuskokwim Ice Classic. This year’s beneficiary groups are Delta Illusions Dance Co., Teens Acting Against Violence, and the YK Delta Lifesavers in Bethel; Aniak Girls Basketball, the Napaskiak Senior Class, Native Village of Hooper Bay Youth Employment program, and the City of Kalskag Youth program. All of these groups were ticket sellers for the event.

This year, the Ice Classic held the first Second Chance Contest. Participants guessed only the minute of breakup. Out of the 60 tickets sold, Susan Charles of Bethel with the minute 0:51, won the $10,000 jackpot.

For those of you in Bethel, join us for the annual Breakup Bash celebration at the riverfront across from First National Bank of Alaska Sunday, May 7th starting at 5 p.m. We will have live music, the BRHS Yup’ik dance group, and free hot dogs to celebrate breakup. For those of you not in Bethel, you will miss the hot dogs but can watch Bethelites celebrating this change in season via our webcam!

Hey everyone, so I’m sure you have heard by now, or seen the evidence on the webcam of something happening to the tripod today. While we were down checking on the Ice Classic shack, the tripod toppled right over! This did NOT trip the clock. The events are still ongoing, as the tripod has to move 100 yards downriver until it trips the clock and a winner is determined. Good luck everyone!

The Second Chance Ice Classic is sold out for 2017! We appreciate all the enthusiasm our fans expressed for this new round of fun while we wait for the river to break. Good luck to all the participants!

Starting Friday, April 28, a very limited run of Second Chance Ice Classic tickets will be available for purchase. The second chance tickets are completely separate from the original 2017 Ice Classic and there will only be 60 tickets available. Ticket pricing, dates of sale and rules are available here or at http://iceclassic.org/secondchance/.